The use of the pesticides Thiamethoxam, Clothianidin, Imidacloprid and
Fipronil has been banned.

The Italian government yesterday issued a ban of the use of the
pesticides Thiamethoxam, clothianidin, Imidacloprid and Fipronil as seed
treatment. Affected crops are corn, rapeseed and sunflowers.
Italian beekeepers are certain, that these pesticides are responsible
the bees dying in spring. The active ingredient Clothianidin
was found in samples of dead bees.

The Italian beekeepers associations have long been calling for a ban on
these pesticides. Italy is the third country after, Germany and Slovenia
to ban the pesticides from the chemical class of neonicotinoides.

In France, clothianidin was never approved because of concerns about the
risk to honey bees. The approval for Imidacloprid was withdrawn in 1999
for sunflower and in 2003 for maize. In Germany, meanwhile, under
pressure from the manufacturer BAYER approval for rape seed has been
granted again.